Ready For Anything (Part 3: First Four Pieces Of Armor) Series

Intro

Imagine what it would be like this morning if today’s news headline read: “America at War.” What if you woke up today to the news that war has broken out between America and China? Every military base would be on high alert. Every mother would be concerned about the future of her sons and daughters. The reality of war would have everyone’s attention.

The first point of our text today is that we are at war. It is a war more deadly than any war. It is a war for the eternal souls of men and women. Are you prepared for war? Are you equipped to navigate your part of it successfully? That is what our text is about today.

In the two previous messages, we have dealt with Ephesians 6:10-13. I want to read that to give context for the verses that follow. Ephesians 6:10-13:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”i

I. THE WILES OF THE DEVIL

According to verse 11, what we need to be able to stand against is “the wiles of the devil.” The word translated wiles is methodeia. We get our English word method from it.ii In this context, it means strategies or tricks to deceive.iii The devil is a deceiver. God has a wonderful plan for your life. The devil has a “not so wonderful” plan for your life.

He has long-term strategies to undermine the good things God wants to do in your life. He began working those tactics very early in your life. Perhaps he wants a root of bitterness in your heart. He will have people do hurtful, offensive, unjust things to you, then he will whisper resentment in your ear. He will do that over and over to convince you of the lie that you cannot trust anybody, including God.

Diabolos is the Greek word translated devil. We get our English word diabolical from it.iv Its primary meaning is slanderer. The devil will slander you. He will slander others to you. He will even slander God to you the way he did Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:4-6). The slander is ultimately designed to separate you from God and from his people. How many people no longer attend church because the devil has worked this strategy against them. He is using the failures of prominent leaders right now to convince people they need to withdraw from the church and go it on their own. Big mistake. There are major changes that need to happen in the American church, but isolation from one another is not the answer.

When a lion chooses his prey, he looks for the one buffalo or antelope that is separated from the herd. That one is easier prey. People do disappoint us at times. That is why we must keep eyes on the Lord.v God has called us to community, and we must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb. 10:25).vi The pattern that we are to follow is stated clearly in Acts 2:42: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.” They continued steadfastly in those four dynamics of worship. And we must do the same. Has Satan tried to use unjust treatment and offenses to sabotage God’s plan for your life?

For another person Satan’s long-term strategy may be to cultivate lust in the heart. Early in that person’s life the enemy begins to expose the individual to sexually explicit ideas and material. He entices the person toward an inordinate focus on that aspect of life. He may even introduce perversions. It is a diabolical strategy to destroy the person’s love for God and proper love for other people. “The thief,” Jesus said, “does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10). No matter what he entices you with, that is his ultimate intention toward you.

Another person may be hit with covetousness and be led to believe that getting things is the most important thing in life. Paul’s major battle with sin may have been in the area of covetousness (Rom. 7:7-11). The Apostle John warned, “Do not love the world or the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). An inordinate love for material things will crowd out your love for God. It will consume your time, energy, and attention so that you miss out on God’s best for your life.vii